What I found
I'm British and I have no real desire to work in the UK long term, but I'm aware that its more likely that I'll get onto a JAR25 jet aircraft much quicker here. Personally I just think 'chav' (that's equivalent to '909' or 'trailer trash' to any Americans reading this) culture is taking over.
I did all my training in the US, LA to be exact and to be honest the general aviation there is second to none, very few restrictions and the culture there is 'get out and do it', simplicity and for everyone opposed to the 'learn the theory' and aviation looked at with exclusivity akin to membership of an exclusive golf club like it is in some circles here.
Yes there a great deal of things about the American culture that are excellent and a great deal that leave a lot to be desired. Personally for me the pro's outweighed the cons. I lived in London for 2 years and there were many differences from where I grew up, some advantageous, some adverse however I decided for me it offered more than it took.
As a British citizen and a commercial pilot to boot, its not easy to establish yourself there. The US military floods the market every year with highly trained pilots when their service is up. Also, as I mentioned before general aviation there is so strong that another tidal wave of willing employees come from there too.
In the wake of 9/11 there is a tendency to go for US citizens, as a UK citizen I couldn't even go on a control tower tour. Any company hiring you has to justify to the DoT/INS why they are opting for you over a US citizen and what you offer that can't be satisfied from the indigenous employee pool.
It is a bit galling that having a degree, British, speaking English as a first language, having over 50k GBP in the bank and assets totaling 150k, having an FAA CPL/IR, HIV free (they check that as part of a medical), served in the UK armed forces and a nice chap into the bargain doesn't have any sway with the US authorities.
In the light of the UK being the biggest supporter of the US' often flawed foreign policy, entering into a war with them, etc. that we are not given a favoured position in the eyes of their immigration service whereas if you have Irish citizenship you have an opportunity to enter the Green card lottery, basically because the Irish lobby has more sway and it has been determined that too many people of Anglo-Saxon decent are in the US already and the idea behind the lottery is to diversify the population.
However that's the situation and no point spending too much time dwelling on it, might as well just deal with it.
The options currently open include doing a marriage of convenience but that opens you to blackmail and deportation if you let your guard slip and an unrestricted passport is the first thing most airlines ask for. A marriage for true love would be a nice alternative. Another is investment in a US firm or business but you have to satisfy certain criteria which would be hard to manage if you are also trying to establish a career as a commercial pilot. The third is family sponsorship, and in a similar vein the fourth is company sponsorship but extremely hard for the reasons given above.
I am patriotic to a degree but I do see myself living in a host of other countries through my flying career.